Saxophonist Wayne Shorter ranks among jazz's greatest composers, but when his quartet performs live—as on this album—his compositions are mere frameworks for daring improvisations that take off in unexpected directions without a safety net. His acoustic quartet includes three leaders in their own right—pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade—who've developed an almost telepathic interplay after 12 years together.

On "Without a Net," his first Blue Note recording in 43 years, the 79-year-old Shorter remakes two earlier compositions, "Orbits," written for the Miles Davis Quintet, and "Plaza Real," created for his jazz-fusion band Weather Report. "Flying Down to Rio," from the 1933 film that first paired Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, is transformed into a harmonically complex, other worldly exploration.

There are six new Shorter compositions, ranging from the hypnotically melodic "Starry Night" to the 23-minute chamber jazz, tone poem, "Pegasus," performed with The Imani Winds quintet that walks a tightrope between written and improvised music.